14 DAY TRIAL // It’s been argued that it’s the computer monitor – or at least spending too much time in front of it – that’s hurting our eyes, and that typing can have negative effects on our bones and mobility, but recent figures show that it’s what we can’t see that hurts us the most. Computer equipment, such as monitors, wires and other gadgets, is responsible for 78,000 visits to the ER room in the US over a period of 12 years, figures cited by WebMD reveal.
Although the period in question is not short (1994-2006), the number of patients who needed emergency assistance certainly is, specialists point out. If one thinks about it, one may easily conclude that the number of computer-related accidents (most of which occur at home and involve either the young or the elderly as a rule) is far greater, since many of these injuries might not require medical attention, therefore are left uncataloged because there is no hospital record for them.
Researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy, the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and the Ohio State University College of Medicine reveal in the July 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that, from what numbers say, people simply don’t see the computer equipment they have in their homes because it has become such an integral part of their lives. Consequently, they trip over it or otherwise hurt themselves, which in itself is something that should be further investigated because of the whopping 732% increase registered in recent years.
“Reported injuries were due to hitting body parts or getting caught on computer equipment, tripping, or falling over wires or other gadgets, equipment falling on top of people, and the straining of joints and muscles. […] The young and the old had the highest injury rates. The most common cause of injury was tripping or falling in children less than 5 years old and in people over 60 years old.” the aforementioned medical publication says of the findings of the study.
Speaking strictly numbers, “58.9% of injuries involved moving the computer or a component. Also, 15.4% of injuries were related to fixing, installing, or plugging in a computer, and 6.7% to using one. The most common diagnosis in all age groups was laceration – 58.4% to the extremities and 41.3% to the head. Contusions and abrasions were the second most common injury.” WebMD further says.
While incidents around the house are bound to happen, the incidence of PC-related injuries should be by no means overlooked, researchers stress. Lara B. McKenzie, PhD, of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Center for Injury Research and Policy in Columbus, Ohio, stresses that establishing the causes of these incidents will also lead to finding means to prevent them, which, at this point, is vital especially in the case of small children.